Original story from Scripps Research Institute (CA, USA). Scientists have designed a DNA scaffold that carries HIV vaccine proteins into the body and sharpens the immune response against the virus. One of the biggest hurdles in developing an HIV vaccine is coaxing the body to produce the right kind of immune cells and antibodies. In most vaccines, HIV proteins are attached to a larger protein scaffolding that mimics a virus. Then, a person’s immune system produces a range of antibodies that recognize different bits of those proteins. Often, however, some of those antibodies react not to HIV itself – but to the scaffold used to deliver the vaccine. Now, researchers at Scripps Research (CA, USA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA, USA) have developed a new kind of vaccine scaffolding made from DNA that the immune system ignores, eliminating these off-target antibodies. In a new study published in Science on February 5, 2026, the team showed that vaccines made with these DNA-based scaffolds led to ten times more immune cells targeting a vulnerable site on HIV when compared to vaccines with protein-based scaffolds. That suggests a stronger and more targeted immune response to the DNA-based vaccines. “It’s a brand-new technology that might help us get to a protective HIV vaccine or solve other particularly difficult vaccine problems,” commented senior author Darrell Irvine, professor at Scripps Research. Typically, a vaccine is made up of a scaffolding particle covered in many inert viral proteins (antigens) that can be recognized by the…
